Coming Home
by mentalsunflower
Summary: After a vicious journey, three friends finally get a chance to just be with one another and bask in the feeling of being home. [KH II spoilers!]


**A/N: **Thought of this while playing a Neopets, game, haha. Um…not much to tell. It takes place after the scene where Sora and Riku return to the island and meet Kairi, Mickey, Donald and Goofy. Before the letter part. And man, I want to know what it sad! Haha.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. That should be enough to satisfy you.

**Coming Home**

"…_Whoah._"

Sora's quiet word summed up the emotions of shock, surprise, and guilt between himself and Kairi. Riku sat in front of them, smirking almost smugly. The three of them were cross-legged on the beach, as they had been all night, recounting everyone's adventures.

No one's had been as surprising as Riku's.

"Yea, I know," he replied just as softly, tracing a pattern in the sand with his finger. "Crazy, right?"

"Completely!" Sora cried, sitting up straighter and planting his hands on the sand in front of him. He was leaning towards Riku now, a look of confusion mingled with excitement written all over his boyish face. "That's so cool! You met my other half? And he beat you?" Sora couldn't help but laugh.

"He's definitely my other half then!"

"Oh, be quiet Sora!" Kairi chided, frowning softly; a soft smile tugged at the corners of her lips as much as she tried to hide it. "It's serious, you know!"

Sora's smile immediately vanished off of his features. "Oh. Yea. Sorry, Riku."

The tall boy shrugged, and the three fell into a comfortable silence, all lost in their own thoughts. The unfamiliar island breeze blew past them, ruffling their clothes and tossing their hair in the air before moving on and leaving them in still peacefulness again.

"I'm so sorry, Riku," Kairi apologized suddenly. "You were going through so much, and all I was doing was sitting here…" She nibbled at her bottom lip fretfully. "No, _both _of you were in so much danger! And trouble! And…" She glanced quickly at Riku, who was watching her silently. Her gaze fell to her lap.

"You've done so much, you guys. For each other, for me…and I haven't really done anything." Her smile was weak and forced, and she felt tears prickling at the back of her eyes.

"That's not true!" Sora cried suddenly, swerving his head towards her. "And you know it's not! Without you I'd still be lost who-knows-where!"

"And I wouldn't have gotten the guts to go confront doofus here back in the castle," Riku told her with a nod of his head in Sora's direction. Sora blinked, confused, but then his expression turned to one of playful anger.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Sora cried, tackling Riku and punching him in the arm. "I'm not a doofus!"

"Yes you are! Doofus!" Riku cried, laughing as Sora tried to shovel sand into his mouth. Riku easily flipped his arm back, and the two rolled apart, chuckling. Kairi had even managed another smile.

"It's just so strange. To think we came from here, and then…so much happened to us." She looked up at the sky that was turning a vivid orange as the sun slowly began to rise. "We're definitely not the people we used to be."

Riku's face grew sombre at her words. Sora sat up straighter, tilting his head to the side like a pup. "I s'pose so," he drawled out quietly, glancing at his two serious-looking friends, "But in a way, we're also the same! You're still sweet," he told Kairi, smiling at her, "And Riku's still a jerk!"

"And you're still an idiot," Riku snapped. The two beamed at each other, and Kairi laughed.

Ocean waves lapped up onto the beach, nearly touching the feet of the three people. The sun was rising on the horizon, and they all watched it peacefully, noticing the sky as it steadily changed from black to purple to orange.

"I thought," Riku began quietly, "I'd never make it back. To here, to you guys, or even to _myself. _I thought…" His words drifted off, and a troubled expression overtook his face.

"You'd be lost forever?" Sora supplied equally as quiet. Riku and Kairi looked at him with eyes wide in surprise.

"…Yea," Riku finally replied. "That's _exactly _how I felt."

"Don't think I didn't feel depressed sometimes," Sora admonished them lightly, tickling a starfish that was lying on the sand in front of them. "I mean, I had to think about it _once _in a while."

"Scary," Kairi said softly, watching his fingers on the starfish with an idle curiosity.

"But now, everything's gonna be okay," Sora said more loudly this time. "We all know what happened with each other, so no secrets, right?"

"Right!" Kairi agreed readily, grinning.

"Right," Riku replied, giving one of his small, mysterious smiles. Sora grinned at his two friends that sat on either side of him and threw his arms around their shoulders, hugging them both tightly. Kairi laughed, and even Riku managed a chuckle. Sora was still smiling like an idiot as he squeezed his friends.

"Man, I missed this so much!" he cried suddenly, loosening his grip on them slightly. "It's amazing to be back."

"I feel so much happier with you two here," Kairi told them. "So much happier."

Riku and Sora both grinned at her, and Kairi felt familiar tears start to fall. She dabbed them away quickly and was thankful Sora and Riku were guys so they didn't notice her stealthy wiping.

"Everything's gonna be okay now," Sora repeated, sitting back and watching the sky.

"Yup," Riku and Kairi said in unison, also leaning back to watch the sky and the lone seagulls that cawed from above. Their souls, now linked like a chain, sang joyously to be together again—all three of them.

The sun continued to rise and their first day back home began.

_"Everything's gonna be okay now…"_


End file.
